Six years after her character Joan and her close-knit crew of ladies (Toni, Maya and Lynn) abruptly went off the air, Ross sat down with The Breakfast Club to reminisce over “Girlfriends” as well as promote “Black-Ish” and talk on the subject of race.

Highlights from the interview are below:

On Girlfriends ending abruptly
Well it was abrupt that we didn’t get a finale, but that’s sort of a regular occurrence for a lot of shows. We went eight years, 176 episodes.

On what would have happened next if the show kept running
I actually think there was a script and Toni and Joan came back together. I think we always thought…did you ever watch “Sex & The City”? Toni was sort of Joan’s Mr. Bigg, so they do, they did get back together and I think Joan got married.

No [they weren’t lesbians]. I think they had the sort of relationship in which they needed each other and it never could quite make it fit in the right way; like Ying & Yang. It was a good relationship I have to say and even with Jill [Marie Jones].

On rumors that there would be a “Girlfriends” movie
Yeah, and we were all game. I don’t know what happened with that. But now, don’t you think it’s too long? The girlfriends might look old.

On the show “Black-ish”
“Black-ish” is a family comedy about black family. It’s one of the things I think is interesting on the show, we’re not a family that happens to be black, we are a black family, but it’s about a family dealing with their ish. Although the show is not about being black, within the ish a lot of cultural-identity race, all those things come up.

On if there was ever a moment that she was made aware that she was black
First of all, I’ve never known that I wasn’t black. [In a negative moment] I’ve had moments; I had moments where the cab has pulled up and pulled away, especially if my hair is out. They get a little closer and keep on moving. For some reason, I can’t think of stuff now but I’ve always known I was black. In an interview recently, someone said, ‘So as a mixed woman, why is it that you identify with a black woman?’ If I thought I could try being a white woman for a day and say that maybe I would. I was like, ‘I don’t know if anyone would buy it. No, no, no I’m white. I’m very tan…very tan. I get a perm.[LAUGHS]‘

To see the rest of Tracee Ellis Ross’ interview with The Breakfast Club, check out the video below:

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